Game boy consoles himself over mega-sale

Onur Gonullu is leaving behind his Game Boy-hood for more adult pursuits.

The spray painter from Meadow Heights is selling his 550-game collection with 20 consoles all in working order and getting married.

Onur Gonullu is selling his 550-plus video games.Credit:Pat Scala

Some consoles are rare and retro, like the Nintendo "Family Computer" or Famicom model, made and sold only in Japan in 1983. Other consoles for sale in the collection include a custom Nintendo – spray painted, Super Nintendo, Game Boy, PlayStations, Wii, Xbox, Sega Master System and Sega Mega Drive.

For Mr Gonullu, who is marrying fiancee Lara (not Croft) in Thailand in April, the time has come to part with his collection.

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"I am growing up, really," the 27-year-old said.

"If I had time I would play them, I would, but I don't – I like to go fishing."

His fiancee finds his collection "interesting" and has not applied any pressure to sell it, he said. He will use the money – $4200 is the asking price on Gumtree – to help furnish his marital home.

"Family is much more important and it is time," he said.

He began collecting five years ago after seeing a photograph of a huge games collection on website TheChive.com. Soon after, he bought a game from his childhood, Wonder Boy, at a flea market at the Coburg Drive-in.

"I built it from scratch. I used to play the games as a kid and I guess what really appeals to me is that it (the collection) is really massive," he said.

"When I get something in my head, I just do it."

For the eager gamer, the collection includes two audio-visual splitters that allow a gamer to hook up six consoles to one screen, so up to 12 consoles can be at beck and call of the new owner. Mr Gonullu has also crafted a cabinet to display the consoles, which is included in the price.

Mr Gonullu believes he has spent more than $6000 on the games and while there are larger collections around, they do not often come onto the market together. A collection of this size is enough to start an online business, he said.

"I have had a lot of people ask to split it up, but I won't do that," he said.

Far from playing the collection he has amassed, the only games he plays are low-tech games like backgammon and chess on his computer.

The only exception is his favourite game in the collection Final Fantasy VII, a role-play game about eco warriors and raging demons.